Mississippi native accounted for from World War II
WASHINGTON—The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced today that U.S. Army Tech5 Edwin E. Ross, 24, of Philadelphia, Mississippi, who was captured and died as a prisoner of war during World War II, was accounted for July 18, 2025.
Ross’s family recently received their full briefing on his identification, therefore, additional details on his identification can be shared.
In the fall of 1942, Ross was a member of 17th Bombardment Squadron, 27th Bombardment Group, when Japanese forces invaded the Philippine Islands in December. Intense fighting continued until the surrender of the Bataan peninsula on April 9, 1942, and of Corregidor Island on May 6, 1942.
Thousands of U.S. and Filipino service members were captured and interned at POW camps. Ross was among those reported captured when U.S. forces on Bataan surrendered to the Japanese. He was subsequently held at the Cabanatuan POW camp. More than 2,500 POWs perished in this camp during the war.
According to prison camp and other historical records, Ross died on July 27, 1942, and was buried along with other deceased prisoners in the local Cabanatuan Camp Cemetery in Common Grave 225.
Following the war, American Graves Registration Service personnel exhumed those buried at the Cabanatuan cemetery and recovered 18 sets of remains from Common Grave 225. Due to complications in the burial and recovery process, 15 were unable to be identified and buried as Unknowns in the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial.
In March 2018, as part of the Cabanatuan Project, the remains associated with Common Grave 225 were disinterred from the MACM and sent to the DPAA laboratory for analysis.
To identify Ross’s remains, scientists from DPAA used anthropological analysis and circumstantial evidence. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA analysis, mitochondrial genome sequencing data and nuclear single nucleotide polymorphism testing.
Although interred as an Unknown in MACM, Ross’s grave was meticulously cared for over the past 70 years by the American Battle Monuments Commission, along with others still missing from WWII. A rosette will be placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.
Ross will be buried April 17, 2026, in his hometown.
